Go home limos, this big-block van with dihedral doors just wins

You might think vans aren’t your style. You see Siennas, Pacificas, and Grand Caravans out roaming the pick-up lane at school and the soccer field parking lot and think, “I would never be caught dead in one of those.”

But had you considered a van with dihedral doors? What about one with a rotunda-like lounge covered in leather and a wet bar in the back? Would a big-block Chevy engine sway you at all to make time for van time?

We are talking, of course, about the 1998 Mauck MSV 1120s. The hand-assembled lounge-on-wheels is currently listed on Bring a Trailer with an auction closing in just three days.  The current bid is nowhere close the $200,000 these special vehicles sold for new, but if you aren’t preparing to bid, you should probably take a good hard look at yourself and ask why not.

With a low floor, the eight-foot-tall roof of the Mauck allows over six feet of headroom, which given the eight-foot width makes the rear lounge spacious enough for a full wrap around couch. Look at it. It could seat at least a dozen of your closest friends, or even some new acquaintances! The bar sits in arms reach of passengers, along with a phone that is set up to call the driver should your plans change mid-route. You wouldn’t want to risk getting up and spilling your dirty martini on your alligator skin shoes.

While you are partying like it’s 1999 in the hide-draped lounge, the drivetrain will be working right underneath you. That’s right, it’s a pusher drivetrain incorporating the finest big-block engine technology Chevrolet had to offer in the late-’90s. A 454-cubic-inch, big-block V-8 is paired to a 4L80E four-speed automatic transmission, with power sent to the rear wheels via a custom-built Ford 9-inch diff from Currie Enterprises.

The main thing this crazy van is missing is a toilet. Don’t fear though; the reported 10 mpg that this big-block serves up will burn through the 35-gallon tank quick enough that you will find yourself, not by choice, stopping at each rest area along your route. Load up on snacks while you’re at it.

Be the king of the tailgaters. Go Mauck or go home.